Friday morning at a little after 7:00 a.m., we got a phone call from Dr. Oliver. He said that Erika had called him the night before saying that Yamuleith’s fever had spiked and that she was very sick and needed her antibiotic. We had priced this particular antibiotic the week before just so we would have an idea of how much it cost and were shocked at the price. It ran around $90 for two weeks worth. I remember thinking I was glad we didn’t have to buy it that day…I guess I jumped the gun. No wonder Erika needed help with it. Evidently, Yamuleith has gotten to the point that the regular regimen of antibiotics just can’t handle her infections anymore.
I’m not sure why Oliver didn’t go over there then but it may have been too late in the evening to have found any pharmacies open. Anyway, he said he was going to go to a discount pharmacy and find out how much the antibiotic was so that he could come by and get some money from us. He would then go on over to their house.
About an hour later, Oliver was at our gate. Jim gave him the money, reminded him to keep the receipt and told Oliver that he wanted him to check her out thoroughly and Oliver said he would.
Jim and I were waiting for PriceSmart to open. We wanted to run by there and then on to the grocery store to buy some food for Erika and the kids. Their situation had been weighing heavily on both our minds, so when I asked Jim if we could go get some things, he quickly agreed. Normally, we would go to the market but we knew it would be really busy at that time and parking would be an issue, so we just decided to go to the stores and get what we needed so we could get on over to Erika’s house.
When we pulled up in front of the house, Erika’s 12 year old daughter, Julissa, met us at the door and quickly ushered us in. Erika gave me a quick kiss and greeting and then began telling me that Yamuleith was very sick. I stepped to the bed and noticed that once again, Yamuleith was laying face down with a pillow under her tummy. She looked so uncomfortable that I asked Erika about her position and Erika removed the small piece of material that she had draped across Yamuleith’s bottom. I saw that she had numerous large pressure sores (also known as bedsores) all over her back and backside. There were two areas that were covered with two pieces of 4x4 gauze.
Erika began to remove the tape to show me the largest one. Yamuleith’s face scrunched up in pain and she moaned. I reached out to try to soothe her and I was shocked at how hot her body was. She was burning up with fever. I asked Erika about it and she said that when Oliver came earlier, that she had started Yamuleith on her antibiotic and had just given her a pain pill not long before we arrived.
Erika continued to pull off the tape. I knew what I was about to see wasn’t going to be pleasant but I can honestly say I’ve never seen an open wound like that before in my life. I felt a wave of nausea come over me and for a second, I thought I was going to have to sit down. I hadn’t seen anything even close to that since we had visited the children’s burn ward at one of the government hospitals here a few years ago. There was no formal prayer but just a silent plea that God would keep me from reacting the way I felt.
The largest wound was between 2 and 3 inches across and was extremely deep…forming what I can only describe as a crater on her backside. The child doesn’t have an ounce of padding there and I knew the wound must be getting close to the bone. I don’t have the words to describe how horrific that place was. I have since tried to do some research on such things and what I saw is considered a Level 4 pressure wound which has the potential to be very dangerous to someone in her condition. It wasn’t bloody per se but it was just a crater of raw flesh. I am not indicating that this is what she has but the first thing that came to my mind is that must be how those with that flesh eating disease must look. It is an image I don’t think I will ever forget.
The heat, the odor of her apparently leaking colostomy bag and the sight of such a wound almost got the best of me and I really did feel queasy. I told Erika to cover it back up and asked her what Dr. Oliver had said when he saw it. She basically told me that he didn’t uncover any of the bandages but instead was more concerned about Yamuleith’s fever and pain as that was what she was complaining about.
I was furious. I have to say that I think that’s how I deal with such things when I don’t have the luxury to sit and cry my eyes out. I could feel that anger rising up inside of me. What I was seeing was unacceptable and the fact that this was what this absolutely helpless child was enduring just about pushed me to my breaking point. I think I understand very well the “fight or flight” reaction. I was scared. Yamuleith was weak, feverish and full of infection. I was afraid we might lose her. I had no choice…I had to fight…flight just wasn’t an option.
I took a deep breath and I calmly told Erika that Yamuleith needed to go to the hospital. I told her that the wound was very serious and that it was badly infected. She agreed but didn’t know what to do. She also was afraid of what would happen since she told me that Dr. Oliver hadn’t looked at the “bad place.” I told her I wasn’t sure why he didn’t but that wasn’t important right at that moment. That what was important was that we needed to get Yamuleith to the hospital that day.
Erika began telling me why it was so difficult as she had no one to stay with her other children. I listened for a minute and then told her that we were going to bring in some groceries, run home and make a phone call and that we were then going to go get Dr. Oliver and bring him back with us. It’s not that I wasn’t sympathetic to her situation…it’s that Yamuleith’s situation was the priority. Erika sensed that I was very serious and simply said, “Okay”.
Jim and I went out to the car and I did something I haven’t done since I got the call 3 ½ years ago that my mom had died…I leaned against the car and just cried out, “Oh my God…why?” Jim put his arm around me and rested his chin on top of my head. He held me for just a second and said, “Let’s get the groceries inside.” That’s exactly what I needed to hear. I do much better when a wave of emotion is about to pull me under if I have a task to focus on. I love my husband…he knows me so well.
We hurriedly carried in the groceries with Julissa’s help…25# of rice, 15# of beans, a gallon of oil, 4# of sugar, 2 bags of pinolillo (a corn drink), pasta, eggs, tomatoes, carrots, chayote, potatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, bananas, papaya, and apples. We also had bought a rotisserie chicken thinking that it would be simple then for Erika to make sure that Yamuleith would have some protein. Needless to say, Erika and her children were thrilled with that.
I think Yamuleith’s mind was somewhere else at that moment…I’m hoping it was somewhere where she was free of pain. Her voice was weak. The knots of anxiety in my throat and stomach were growing. I had been wiping her face and forehead with a wet towel. She told me she didn’t feel good. I told her I knew that. She asked me if she had a fever and I told her yes. She said she liked the cool towel on her face and I told her I was glad it was helping. She told me she was sick and I told her that yes, she was.
As usual, she said my name with each sentence. I’ve not yet figured out why she does that but I find it so special that she’s one of the few people here who does a pretty good job of pronouncing my name. I imagine her hearing skills are so honed to compensate for her blindness that she is just that much better at mimicking gringo sounds than most folks are.
Yamuleith called my name again but her voice was very soft. I bent down to just a few inches from her face and asked her what she wanted. I expected for her to tell me she wanted a drink or to be repositioned. She said, “Lynne…help me.”
That did it. The tears were going to come. I kissed her face and told her we had to leave to go get the doctor to come and help us but that we were going to help her. I put on my sunglasses so that the tears wouldn’t be so obvious to those who are blessed with the gift of vision…you might take a minute right now and thank God for your own gift of eyesight. We told Erika what we were going to do and told her to get Yamuleith’s things together for the hospital. Again, Erika told us she needed to find someone to take care of her other children. She knew Yamuleith needed to go to the hospital, she had even verbalized that to me, but I think the whole situation was just too much for her to cope with right then.
We ran home to get some cash to pay for the ambulance and the hospital admission, called Karen and Dwane and let them know what the situation was and what our plans were. We then ran by CINAFE to get Dr. Oliver. I told him that Yamuleith was very sick and needed to go to the hospital and that I needed him to go with us to help us with the process. I realize now that I didn’t give him an option. He chose to drive his own car which would prove to be a good decision. We then drove straight over to Yamuleith’s.
Dr. Oliver again checked her out and when I told him he needed to check the wound on her backside, he put on gloves and removed the gauze pad. His face revealed his shock. He pressed around the area to see if there was any infection coming out. Yamuleith made a little crying sound. I couldn’t bear to watch him do anymore and walked over to where Jim was sitting on the couch. He began asking Erika questions, wanting to know why she hadn’t told him how bad the wound was when he was there earlier. I think he was afraid we would be upset with him for not seeing it earlier. I already was but I was more concerned with getting Yamuleith to the hospital.
He then asked Yamuleith questions about her pain level and began moving her limbs back and forth. I was getting close to the end of my rope. That child needed care and needed it right away. I told Dr. Oliver I wanted him to call the ambulance. He told me that he wanted to “make sure of things” first. I took a deep breath and got the towel wet again. I finally was tired of trying to keep the edge out of my voice and made it very clear that I wanted him to call the ambulance right then. He called the hospital and asked for an ambulance to come right away.
Getting the ambulance to come was another issue. After the earthquake in 1972, Managua rebuilt in a haphazard manner, with lots of little block and lean-to houses. Streets no longer have street names but specific addresses are given by landmarks. That works okay if the landmark is – or was – well known, but if not, then it can become a little dicey. We waited almost an hour. Meanwhile, Yamuleith and I repeated our earlier conversation…time and time again. And each time she would say, “Lynne…help me,” my anxiety level rose another notch.
Dr. Oliver then bent over her and began to talk to her. She told him that she didn’t want to be sick and that she wanted to be able to be up so that she could go out and serve the Lord…and then, she began to praise the Lord, talking about His goodness and His mercy. Not once did she say a word about feeling sorry for herself or questioning why someone, who has a spirit that flies far above the rest of ours, should be trapped a prisoner in her own body.
Oliver broke and his tears flowed freely. Before long, he was sobbing. The living room is very small and it was impossible to not be a voyeur of this intimate moment. Later when we discussed this, Oliver told us that he couldn’t believe that Yamuleith’s desire was only to serve God. He talked about those he knows who are in perfect physical condition, have an abundance of material blessings and they do nothing but complain and want more. I think we all had faces and names fly through our minds at that moment…and if we were honest, our own would be among them.
Oliver assured her that she was serving God from her bed and that she had no idea how many hearts she was touching and lives that were being changed because of her. I saw a tear roll down Yamuleith’s face…the first I had seen. Oliver said he was at the top of the list of changed hearts. He later told us that God did something in him during that time he was talking to Yamuleith and he said his heart was changed.
We all gathered around Yamuleith’s bed and we prayed over her, asking God to strengthen her body, to heal her wounds, to give the ambulance attendants, the doctors and nurses hearts of compassion so that they would treat her gently, to protect her from unbearable pain and to make sure she received good medical care. We thanked God for His provisions and His hand of protection and we thanked Him for that sweet precious child who has captured our hearts. All of us had wet faces by the end of our prayers.
Finally, the ambulance came…almost an hour after being called. Three attendants came in and did a quick evaluation of her condition, asking Erika and Oliver questions. We moved the couch and her wheelchair so they could bring the gurney in to the house. I was afraid it wasn’t going to fit through the doorway but It did…no room to spare, but enough room to get it in. They opted to lift her using the sheet but still ended up dragging her across the mattress due to the inaccessibility to the bed. She cried out. I just cried.
I had no idea how watching all that would affect me as it did. In my life, I have seen many people experience great pain…some of those were people whom I loved quite dearly. For some reason, watching Yamuleith experience that pain was every bit as disturbing. There is just something about her vulnerability of body and her strength of spirit that have made a huge impact on me. In spite of all that she has experienced in this life, she retains a child-like innocence which is wrapped in a wisdom beyond her years.
Erika went with the ambulance (which took off like a shot, bouncing wildly over the bumpy road…I worried about how Yamuleith was doing) and we followed Oliver as they were taking her to the Hospital Bautista and we didn’t know where it was. We had to stop at the gas station as Oliver had to get gas. At that moment, my phone rang and it was Moises, one of the board members at CINAFE. He asked about what was going on with Yamuleith and so I told him. He told us to wait there and he would be there within minutes.
Evidently, he had come to Managua (he lives in El Crucero) and actually, was not far from the gas station. He was bringing us some money that had been set aside to help with Yamuleith’s care and had no idea all of this was transpiring. God is ALWAYS on time! What an answer to prayer because even though we had brought money with us, we didn’t have any small bills on us which we were afraid we would end up needing. And that’s exactly what Moises brought for us! God is so amazing…
I have to go now but I will continue in the next blog about Yamuleith and the hospital…
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